Last November my partner at the time encouraged me to sign up for Noosa Triathlon with him. You’re kidding right?! I couldn’t run 5km let alone 10km, could barely swim 1.5km, had never swum in the open water, am a little (OK a lot) afraid of bluebottles AND had only ridden a bike maybe 3 times since I was a kid. He persisted though and promised to help me with training so I thought, why not? Maybe it was time to try something new and with someone to help, how hard could it be? Half nervous and half excited, I signed up.

Three weeks later, he broke up with me. Not only was I completely heartbroken, I now had a $300 Noosa registration with no skills to use it. I deliberated for a few months about what to do. Some of my friends were incredibly encouraging whilst others disappointingly discouraging with comments like “Triathlon?! You can’t do that, you don’t even own a bike!” Gee...

Fruits and vegetables naturally grow in cycles and ripen during a certain season each year. Purchasing your fruits and vegetables when they naturally ripen is called ‘eating seasonally’, and eating with the seasons has some serious perks to it.

1. Bang for your buck

Choosing seasonal produce can help you get the most value out of your dollar. Fruits and vegetables picked during their season are in peak supply and this means the cost of growing, harvesting and transporting produce is much lower. If your produce is sourced locally from Australian farmers, the cost of transporting and storing the crops is reduced too. All of these savings are passed on to you, the consumer. For example, buying berries when they are in season is much friendlier on the wallet than buying in their offseason when prices can double or even triple!

2. Tastier

Non-seasonal produce typically must be harvested before it is ripe, cooled to stall ripening, stored and transported significant...

Starchy vegetables:

We talk about periodising nutrition all the time, but WHAT the heck is it?

And HOW do you do it?

Nutrition Periodisation is the use of planned nutritional strategies aimed at maximising the results from specific training sessions to improve performance (1). It is just like having a training plan but for your nutrition, where your nutrition is planned around your training to get the most bang for your buck out of it.

1. Train low

This is where you train with low glycogen stores. For example, you train first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or you don’t quite top your glycogen stores back up between sessions. This allows your body to learn to run more efficiently on a lower fuel tank. For athletes that train twice or even three to four times a day, chances are they are probably running on lower glycogen...

Feeling sad, moody or a bit low? We all do from time to time. Did you know your gut can have a role in your mental health?

A number of studies have confirmed a close link between our gut bacteria and our brain; ever heard of the gut-brain axis? The gut microbiota (bacteria) greatly impacts our brains physiology, influencing our behaviour and response to stress. Research shows that a plant-rich diet high in probiotics and prebiotics helps to increase the richness and diversity of our gut microbiota and aids in our stress response and mental health. So cool!

How can you eat for a happy life?

To promote balanced moods and feelings of well-being:

Focus on a plant-rich diet including a wide variety of fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts & seeds. Aim to fill half of your plate with salad and veggies at lunch and dinner.

Far too common among endurance athletes, GI symptoms include nausea, cramps, bloating, wind, vomiting, diarrhoea and urgency. The frequency, intensity and severity of these symptoms seem to increase as the event distance increases.

So why exactly does it happen?

It’s multifaceted and highly individual but reasons include mechanical, physiological, and nutritional factors (2). We also know that the symptoms are exacerbated by dehydration and hot weather conditions. If you are female, younger and run at high intensity, you may be at higher risk of GI symptoms too (1) (damn it).

Running causes an increase in intra-abdominal pressure which, when combined with our organs bouncing up and down can cause GI symptoms (2). When we exercise,...

In food terms, the best sources of calcium are dairy sources.

Introducing Dave!

Dave aka Bangar can do it all. From indoor rowing to rugby, surf swimming, pool swimming and running, what can’t you do well Dave? Just quietly he holds the title for the No. 1 ranked Indoor Rower for the half marathon IN THE WORLD!

Dave’s next focus is on smashing his Gold Coast 10km run time with the goal to go sub 39 minutes this weekend. Good luck Dave!

Dave with his son Jack after blitzing the Burleigh Swim Run 2017

Name: David

Current location: Palm Beach, QLD

Profession: Turf Contractor

Sport of Choice: Running/Swimming

How many years have you been training and competing in your sport? 26 years

What got you into it in the first place? Looking for a new sport

What’s your favourite training session? 4-10 1km reps (running)

Main Competition or Event for 2017: Gold Coast 10km run + Burleigh Swim Run (Australia Day 2017)

Introducing Bec!

An all-round LEGEND, Bec is one of our longest-standing clients! She even has an original meal plan with our old logo on it – sorry about that Bec From humble beginnings as a triathlete 3 years ago, she’s gearing up to race Cairns IRON(Wo)MAN this weekend. Good luck Bec! You’re going to absolutely smash it!

Name: Rebecca aka Bec

Current location: Mackay, QLD

Profession: Podiatrist

Sport of Choice: Triathlon, but my first love was and still is netball – I’ve retired from playing now to coach

How many years have you been training and competing in your sport? On and off since 2010, started taking triathlon more seriously in 2015

What got you into it in the first place? I love a challenge and a few people I went to university with competed at a pretty decent level so they were a bit of inspiration for me